Morwenstow ( kw, Logmorwenna) is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in north

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, UK. The parish abuts the west coast, about six miles (10 km) north of

Bude Bude (; kw, Porthbud) is a seaside town in north east Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as Bude Haven.''Corn ...

and within the

Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty The Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers in Cornwall, England, UK; that is, about 27% of the total area of the county. It comprises 12 separate areas, designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 for ...

(AONB). Morwenstow is the most northerly parish in

. As well as the churchtown (a hamlet called Crosstown), other settlements in the parish include

Shop Shop or shopping refers to: Business and commerce * A casual word for a commercial establishment or for a place of business * Machine shop, a workshop for machining *"In the shop", referring to a car being at an automotive repair shop *A wood ...

, Woodford, Gooseham, Eastcott, Woolley and West Youlstone. The population at the 2011 census was 791. Morwenstow parish is bounded to the north and east by parishes in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, to the south by

Kilkhampton Kilkhampton ( kw, Kylgh) is a village and civil parish in northeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is on the A39 about four miles (6 km) north-northeast of Bude. Kilkhampton was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Chilc ...

parish and to the west by the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. The

River Tamar The Tamar (; kw, Dowr Tamar) is a river in south west England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A part of the Tamar Valley is a World Heritage Site due to its historic mining activities. T ...

has its source at a spring on Woolley Moor, at , which is in the parish near the border with Devon. Morwenstow is the one-time home of the eccentric vicar and poet

Robert Stephen Hawker Robert Stephen Hawker (1803–1875) was a British Anglican priest, poet, antiquarian and reputed eccentric, known to his parishioners as Parson Hawker. He is best known as the writer of " The Song of the Western Men" with its chorus line of ...

(1803–1875), the writer of Cornwall's anthem '' Trelawny''. Hawker is also credited with reviving the custom of

Harvest Festival A harvest festival is an annual celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. ...

Parish church

The Church of St Morwenna and St John the Baptist, Morwenstow is dedicated to Saints

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

and Morwenna and is of the Norman period. The Vicarage was built for Hawker and has chimneys in the form of the towers of various churches associated with him. The nearby coast is hazardous to shipping and the corpses of drowned sailors were laid out in the churchyard and then buried. Hawker buried over forty who were washed up within the parish boundaries. One of the memorials in the churchyard was the white figurehead of the " Caledonia", a brig from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

that sank on the perilous rocks of Higher Sharpnose in 1842. The captain and crew are buried in the churchyard. In 2004 the figurehead was removed for conservation, with the intention of placing a replica in the churchyard and the conserved original inside the church.

History and description

A path leads from the church and down to the cliff edge, where the National Trust's smallest building, " Hawker's Hut," is built into the face of the cliff overlooking the sea out towards the island of

Lundy Lundy is an English island in the Bristol Channel. It was a micronation from 1925–1969. It forms part of the district of Torridge in the county of Devon. About long and wide, Lundy has had a long and turbulent history, frequently chang ...

. Here, Hawker spent many hours in contemplation, writing poetry, and smoking his opium pipe. He also entertained guests here, including

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

and Charles Kingsley. The holy well of St John on the glebe was mentioned in 1296. The so-called well of St Morwenna is on the cliff. There was a chapel of St Mary at Milton in 1407. The manor of Stanbury in the parish is the birthplace of

John Stanberry __NOTOC__ John Stanberry (or Stanbury; died 11 May 1474) was a medieval Bishop of Bangor and Bishop of Hereford. He was the second son of Walter Stanbury of Morwenstow, Cornwall, by his wife Cicely, and the grandson of John Stanbury, esq. Stanb ...

, Bishop of Hereford, who was made first Provost at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

by King Henry VI. Sir William Adams the

oculist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

was also born at Stanbury. The manor house was built in the 16th century, and is said to be haunted. Nearby Tonacombe Manor has been described as the perfect Tudor manor; it is also alleged to be haunted. A round-headed Celtic cross was found here in the early 20th century; no round-headed cross was known north of Laneast before this one was found.''The Cornish Church Guide'' (1925) Truro: Blackford; pp. 167-68 A striking example of curved and contorted stratified rocks occurs at Stanbury Creek. Dark cliffs of folded, interbedded shales and mudstones form wave-cut platforms. GCHQ Bude, a satellite ground station stands on the cliffs of Cleave and its array of dishes is visible for miles around.

Literary associations

Morwenstow and its surroundings feature heavily in the plot of the mystery thriller novel ''Set in Stone'' (1999) by the British author

Robert Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket. Goddard successfully laun ...

. ''The Wreck at Sharpnose Point'' by Jeremy Seal (June 2003) is a novel based on the wrecking of the 'Caledonia' (first published in New York, 2001 ).

Notable people

*Sir William Adams the

was born at Stanbury * Michael Axworthy, historian and commentator * Sally Axworthy, diplomat *

, poet and priest *

, Bishop of Hereford, who was made first Provost at

by King Henry VI, was also born at Stanbury * Jonah Barrington, international squash player and coach * Adelaide Phillpotts, writer, is buried here

References

External links

Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Morwenstow
{{authority control Villages in Cornwall Civil parishes in Cornwall Populated coastal places in Cornwall